October 22 marks the birth anniversary of the transcendent Franz Liszt (1811-1886). A consummate and legendary pianist, he was also a master of the art of piano transcription: promoting the works of composers such as Berlioz and many a times modifying the more banal elements of the original composition to suit a creatively-charged disposition. As a composer, too, his inventive inclinations foreshadowed the expanding harmonic vocabulary of succeeding composers. His only remaining daughter, Cosima, later became the wife of Richard Wagner whose works were also championed by Liszt. Later in life, Liszt took minor religious orders and became known as Abbé Liszt and taught many young pianists, frequently without payment. Grieg’s avid description: “…all the spirits of the universe vibrate under his fingers... He stirs one’s inmost soul with demonic power.”